Adventures in genealogy

Surname Saturday: PLUTA

Meaning/Origin – The name PLUTA (hear it pronounced in Polish) is derived from the Polish word pluć, meaning “to spit”. Pluta means “spitter” or bad weather! (Source: Polish Surnames: Origins and Meanings, Second Edition by William F. Hoffman)

Countries of Origin– The surname PLUTA is Polish. According to the World Names Profiler, Poland has the highest frequency per million residents with this name at 385 per million. Germany is next at almost 15 per million, with Canada at 8 and the United States at 6.75.

Spelling Variations– PLUTA is the most common variation of the name, but other names derived from the same root include PLUCIK, PLUCIŃSKI, PLUTECKI, PLUTOWSKI, AND PLUWAK. (Source: Polish Surnames: Origins and Meanings, Second Edition by William F. Hoffman)

Surname Maps – The following map illustrates the frequency of the PLUTA surname in Poland. There are about 15,258 people with the surname PLUTA spread out over 320 different counties and cities. The greatest concentration are in the city of Warsaw (Warszawa) with over 400 residents.

Famous Individuals with the Surname – Wilhelm Pluta (1910-1986) was a bishop in Poland who is now a candidate for sainthood in the Catholic church.

My Family – This is the surname of my great-great-grandmother. My Pluta family comes from the town of Mszczonów, Poland. My earliest ancestor so far with this name is Ludwik Pluta, born around 1790-1800 and deceased by his son’s marriage in 1842. He married Helena Redłowska. My line of descent is as follows: Ignacy (b. 1821) > Ludwik (b. 26 Aug 1843 – d. by 1885) > daughter Antonina Rozalia (b. 11 Jun 1863, Mszczonów – d. 12 Dec 1938, Philadelphia, PA, USA). Antonina had at least one brother to carry on the family name, Jan Pluta. He was living in Żyrardów at the time of his mother’s immigration to the US in 1909.

Antonina Pluta married Józef Pater in August 1885. They immigrated to the U.S. with their seven children from 1905-1907. More information is found on the Pater Family Page.

My Research Challenges -I need to continue my research. On a trip to Poland, the priest at the church in Mszczonów was unable to find the baptismal record of Ignacy in 1821, which is the presumed year based on his marriage record from 1842. The Family History Library has microfilmed church records for this town from 1808 to 1877, so I need to take a closer look myself. The records are not early enough to find Ignacy’s father’s (Ludwik) birth, but I may be able to find the marriage record for Ludwik and Helena Pluta.